The Global Pulse Journal Blog

Last week in Seattle, the group known as the “Health 8″ — so named in reference to constituting the “G8″ of global health finance — met among a flurry of global health conferences and talks.  Sandi Doughton from the Seattle Times reports on who the Health 8 are, and whether the rest of us should care: Seattle Times article on Health 8.

Read health journalist Christine Gorman’s take on the Health 8 at the Global Health Report Blog (follow the “Related Post” link for a more detailed description of the group and what it is supposed to do).

Does the Health 8 represent the potential of high-level coordination for crafting better wide-reaching strategies?  Is it fair for some philanthropic organizations to get a seat at high-level tables while others don’t even know that the table is being set?  Where is there room for the voices of the people who are supposed to be the ultimate beneficiaries of global health funding?  Are evidence-based models being used?  What level of transparency is appropriate in such discussions?  Where do we draw the line between the institutionalized anarchy of uncoordinated NGO function on one hand, and secret meetings at which the fate of billions is quite literally decided on the other?  These are some questions in the air.

BBC has a nice interactive map that shows the spread of swine flu at different points since the first cases were identified:

Amidst the calls for readiness and the necessity of prompt public health action, Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas has been confirmed as the US Health and Human Services Secretary.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced it is sending a team to investigate claims that industrial pig farms in Mexico were the source of the outbreak. Meanwhile, the Internet is aswarm with swine flu rumors ranging from the plausible to the outrageous (as well as a gratuitous number of attempted puns involving pigs and flying). A sampler (with source): the outbreak’s name should have nothing to do with pigs (US pork producers; also the government of Israel); the virus was secretly created in US labs in a bid for world domination (Indonesia); avoiding pork chops will protect you against it (Twitter; also a number of world governments); so will enemas (The Huffington Post); so will getting drunk (xkcd.com, point your mouse over the image). OK, so maybe the last one is just there to lighten the mood. But seriously, people. While we marvel at the fascinating cultural beliefs and geopolitical realities that underlie these rumors, do let us try and stick to the science when it comes to disseminating information.

Seen any fantastic swine flu rumors or controversies out there? Please add them in the comments!

The CDC is collaborating with the WHO to investigate reported outbreaks of the swine flu in Mexico, California and Texas. The WHO reports that in the USA, there have been 7 confirmed cases, 5 suspected cases, and no mortalities, mostly affecting young adults (influenza usually afflicts the young, old and immunocompromised). In Mexico, Influenza-like-illness (ILI) has been under surveillance since March 18, where there have been approximately 1000 reported cases, with 59 deaths in Mexico City and 3 deaths in San Luis Potosi located in central Mexico (although Mexicans have commented that the situation is far worse than depicted by authorities).  The strains are sensitive to oseltamivir but resistant to amantadine and rimantadine.  Symptoms of the respiratory tract infection include fever, sore throat, cough, myalgia and malaise. If the cases we have seen result in Antigenic Shift (complete change in HA and NA), there is risk for h1n1 pandemic, since we have no antibodies against the virus. In 1918, a swine flu virus transferred its HA to a human strain (HSW), leading to the Spanish Flu/H1N1 pandemic which resulted in 20 million deaths across the globe. Remember: don’t give children aspirin if they present with these symptoms (Reye’s Syndrome) and follow the CDC, WHO and USA government pandemic flu site for updates.   Read the rest of this entry →

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to see a new and much-talked-about feature-length documentary, What Are We Doing Here?, at its New York City premiere.   Shot by three brothers and a cousin during a 6-month-long trek from Cairo to the southern tip of the African continent, the film has been billed as a daring and independent look at the failures of external (“Northern” or “Western”) charity and development efforts to make a substantial difference for the better in the lives of ordinary Africans.  According to the website:

Daring to ask the questions no one else will, the filmmakers invite the world to rethink the fight against poverty in Africa.  Could our good intentions be causing more harm than good?  Have humanitarian interventions prolonged suffering? Who is actually benefiting from our good intentions? These questions and many more are addressed for the first time ever in this groundbreaking feature length film.  If you ever wanted to know what happened to the $10 dollars you donated to charity last year, look no further.  This film will change the way you look at charity in Africa forever.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW20gHstfzU]

With  so dramatic a promise to challenge accepted discourse, coupled with an announcement that the filmmakers would be open to discussion and audience feedback afterward, this seemed too good to miss.

Read the rest of this entry →